{{Short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Michel Vidal | image = | alt = | caption = | state = Louisiana | district = 4th | term_start = July 18, 1868 | term_end = March 3, 1869 | predecessor = Vacant due to Civil War | successor = [[Joseph P. Newsham]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1824|10|1}} | birth_place = Carcassonne, Languedoc, France | death_date = {{Death date and age|1895|10|20|1824|10|1}} | death_place = Montreal, Canada | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | profession = Diplomat, newspaper editor, politician | office1 = United States Consul to Tripoli | term_start1 = April 5, 1870 | term_end1 = October 12, 1876 | education = University (France) }} <!-- This article was automatically created by [[User:polbot]] from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=V000096. The prose may be stilted, and there may be grammatical and Wikification errors. Please improve in any way you see fit. -->'''Michel Vidal''' (October 1, 1824 - October 20, 1895) was a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[Louisiana]].

Born in the city of [[Carcassonne]], [[Languedoc]], [[France]], Vidal completed university-level studies in France before emigrating to the [[Republic of Texas]]. Soon after Texas became annexed to the United States, Vidal moved to the French-speaking region of south Louisiana. He engaged in literary and scientific pursuits and served as associate editor of several American and French newspapers for the French-speaking populations of the U.S. and Canada. He also served as an editor of the ''New York [[Courrier des Etats-Unis|Courrier des États-Unis]]'' and the New Orleans ''Picayune'' (now the ''[[Times-Picayune]]''). At the close of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] he was appointed by General [[Philip Sheridan]] a registrar for the city of [[New Orleans]]. In 1867, he moved to [[Opelousas, Louisiana]], where he founded and edited the ''[[St. Landry Parish|Saint Landry Progress]]''. He served as delegate to the State constitutional convention of 1867 and 1868 (this convention wrote the "[[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] Constitution" which was in turn rescinded after white Democrats again gained control of Louisiana government) after 1876.<ref>{{CongBio|V000096}}.</ref>

Upon readmission of Louisiana to representation in Congress, Vidal was elected, from [[Louisiana's 4th congressional district]] (which included Opelousas), as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to the [[Fortieth United States Congress]], (July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869), and was effectively in office until 1870.<ref>See the table in [[Louisiana's 4th congressional district]].</ref> He was appointed a United States commissioner under the convention concluded with [[Peru]] in 1868 for the adjustment of claims of citizens of either country. On his leaving Congress, Vidal was appointed by President [[Ulysses Grant]] as United States consul at [[Tripoli, Libya]], where he served from April 5, 1870, to October 12, 1876. He died in [[Montreal]].

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{succession box | before=Vacant due to Civil War | title=[[United States House of Representatives, Louisiana District 4|United States Representative for the 4th Congressional District of Louisiana]] | years=1867&mdash;1870 | after=[[Joseph P. Newsham]]}} {{s-dip}} {{succession box | title=United States Consul to Tripoli (part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] | before=unknown | after=unknown | years=1870-1876 }} {{s-end}} {{LARepresentatives}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, Michel}} [[Category:1824 births]] [[Category:1895 deaths]] [[Category:French emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:19th-century American diplomats]] [[Category:19th-century American newspaper editors]] [[Category:Consuls for the United States]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Louisiana]] [[Category:19th-century United States representatives]]